This invention relates to a damping device for damping ropes or cables used with elevator systems.
When buildings shake in a strong wind, a lateral vibration is normally caused in the ropes or cables of the elevator systems serving such building for example, a hoisting rope for suspending an elevator car. In high buildings having a long hoisting rope, a very long time must pass until such lateral vibration has ceased. This is partly due to the fact that the hoisting rope itself has a small attenuation factor and this causes discomfort for passengers within an associated elevator car and it has sometimes created difficulty in the speed control of the elevator car. In order to damp the lateral vibrating movement of hoisting ropes, there have been previously proposed various damping devices. For example, it has been already proposed to dispose a suitable oil damper between a holder having a hoisting rope coupled thereto and the adjacent portion of the hoisting rope. This measure is disadvantageous in that due to the use of the oil damper, the resulting system is not easy to install and is expensive and its maintenance requires a large amount of labor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved damper device for use with the ropes or cables of elevator systems which has a simple construction and low in cost.